I Love You Already!

Every parent will recognise the situation here. Bear just wants some time to himself; Duck, like any active child, has other ideas. Underlying the narrative is the child’s need for reassurance – tell me how much you love me.

Jory John and Benji Davies teamed up to bring us Goodnight Already!, the first appearance of Bear and Duck. It is an ideal partnership – both of creators and created. Jory’s text takes the form of a dialogue between Bear and Duck, neatly differentiated by very clear fonts. While this does not make it easy to share with a large group, the potential for action and voices – or even participation is attractive. Taking the narrative off the page are the illustrations. This is an example of that real collaboration between writer and artist. Bear and Duck are distinct characters revealed through their words and through the visual presentation. But here is no slavish repetition of text into picture. Davies cleverly extends and enhances the underlying storyline through the positioning of his figures and their expressions. No words needed there. While the limited palette – soft saturated colours  – creates visual interest without detracting from the text which remains clear and legible throughout.